


Love Songs

by felicia_angel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angry Castiel (Supernatural), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bela and Dean are Best Friends, Dean and Castiel are Jane and Bingley, F/M, Gen, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pride and Prejudice/The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Inspiration, Uriel (Supernatural) Being an Asshole, architect!castiel, cook!Dean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-11 08:19:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18426678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicia_angel/pseuds/felicia_angel
Summary: A bit of a failed Supernatural Castiel Pinefest - Dean Winchester and Castiel meet and instantly fall for each other, but choices and family end up pulling them apart. When more and more of the truth about their "breakup" appears, can the two come back together?...Since they're basically Jane and Bingley for Pride and Prejudice, what do you think?





	1. Kiss Kiss Fall In Love

**Author's Note:**

> Originally I was doing this for the Pinefest, but fell behind due to a lot of things. As such, I ended up slowly reworking it as time went on, and, well, I got tired of Cas and Dean always being Elizabeth and Darcy, when clearly they are Jane and Bingley. So...here's my take on it.

Dean Winchester meets Castiel Krushnic in a way that, he’s been reasonably told, he should not meet people, and that is during the day he and Bela Talbot crash the most expensive party in town - the fifth wedding of her father, the richest guy in town. Bela and her father have a hit-and-miss relationship, much like Dean and his father, but Bela’s life was far more painful until she moved to Windom and changed her last name. He gets the idea that he’s there to be eye-candy for Bela, since she doesn’t have the Kelly last name and very few realize her connection to the groom. Dean is small town, or at least from this particular small town, and a lot of people seem to be from out of town or the small bit of upper-crust people living here. Basically, exactly the few people who might or might not know who Bela is, that she didn’t exactly get an invite due to issues with her dad, and that meant he was crashing with her.

He’s fine with the arrangement he has with Bela, since it’s one they worked out back when they’d both just started being the most wanted singles in town, and is more interested in learning more about the shindig. It also means getting to eat food he’s not tried before, and while he knows the chef personally - again, small town - he still is up for helping Bela out in the crashing and possible fun times they’ll have.

They move to the main hall as everyone gathers for food and the open bar, which Dean gravitates to after Bela quickly goes off with Cassie Robinson and Victor Hendriksen. He’s not surprised the two are hanging out - Cassie’s a good friend for Bela, even if she lets her opinion get in the way of a story sometimes, but he is a bit upset when he notices that Victor is giving him the stink-eye. He quickly spots Bela’s father and his new wife, the red-haired Rowena McLeod-Kelly, moving along the dance floor with a steady grace and sync that looks really nice. He’s glad to see everyone having fun, and smiles as he watches a bit from the sidelines, snagging what few snacks and such he can. Benny and his niece outdid themselves this time.

“Save me,” Bela mutters as she comes up, Cassie talking with Victor and someone else to one side as Rowena drags over a grouping of men towards them.

“She already matchmaking for you?”

“They’re her  _ family friends _ , and she’s doing it more because no one knows who I am. Wants to see what happens.”

Dean chuckles only briefly before Rowena waves. “There you both are. Bela, Dean, darlings, come and meet my friends.” His eyes meet the blue eyes of a dark-haired man in an ill-fitting suit, expensive despite how it falls, and they don’t leave as Rowena says, “Castiel, this is Dean Winchester. Dean, this is Castiel Krushnic, of Krushnic Group.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dean says, shaking hands and smiling.

“You as well,” Castiel says, returning the smile and handshake. Both men hold on a bit longer than is probably necessary, and stare into each other’s eyes until someone’s comment about Castiel ‘never having good taste’ gets them to glance at the rest, though Dean catches Bela’s knowing look as the rest of the introductions are done - Gabriel and Balthazar Pratt, brothers from a rich family of hotel owners, and Uriel Darcy, a rich investor or something. Uriel seems content with glaring mostly at Dean and Bela, while Gabriel and Balthazar complain about the venue, the food, and the bar the moment Rowena is pulled away before turning on the bride and groom. Cassie arrives, the two not seeming to see Cassie’s press pass (or not caring) as Dean offers to go and get everyone drinks. Uriel stalks off as Bela shakes her head, the two brothers wandering off, Cassie following her until it’s just Dean and Castiel, Castiel looking over at Gabriel and Balthazar as he sighs. “I’m not one to joke, but even I know that Balthazar’s jokes are old and bad, if not in bad taste for a wedding.” He shakes his head as he gets a shot from the bartender, Dean joining him as the two downed the first easy shot. “I don’t understand my friends sometimes.”

“Friends can be like that,” Dean says, smiling again and feeling a bit more at-ease, now that the others seemed to have started to stay in their own area to complain. “They do complain a lot for drinking all the wine and eating all the food.”

“Yes. I think Gabriel is a bad influence. Bal is normally less...like this, and Uriel has his own sense of humor, but he’s very...he’s had some issues recently, regarding his sister.” Dean nods in understanding, not pushing for details as they get another shot. “I’m rather boring in comparison, I suppose, as the architect and carpenter.”

“Hey, that takes a lot of planning and work, not to mention the same amount of freaking out. I’m just a delivery guy, though I do cook a bit.”

Castiel looks interested despite it, then added, “Mr. Kelly asked me here so I can help with a project he has. I may be here for a bit.”

“Oh?” Dean smiles at that news, “Do tell.”

Castiel chuckles and orders a water for them both. “Honestly, I haven’t gotten all the details yet, though I think I have an inkling of what he wants me to do. Still, the work, the planning, even making various things like the furniture or figuring out how best to place the rooms can be a challenge, and a rewarding one when they all come together.” He smiles a bit as he looks over at Dean. “What about you? Are you working for the Kellys or something else?”

“I’m mostly doing deliveries for the caterer, and for a few other businesses, but I also do other work on the side. You need anything done, be it deliveries or extra help, I’m your man.”

Castiel’s smile grew a bit more, and his eyes shone with interest over the drink. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Dean.” He shifts, picking up a napkin from the bar before offering it to Dean. “Could I get your number, then? I’ll give you a call.”

“Shouldn’t this work the other way around?” Dean teased, writing his number down as Uriel stalks over, looking almost annoyed as Castiel quickly enters the number into his phone. “Smoke on the Water”s opening chords play, Dean picking it up and answering it with a smirk as Uriel mutters, “We need to get going, Castiel.”

“I need to get going. I’ll hang up...now,” Castiel says into the phone, awkwardly, getting Dean to smile a bit at it.

“Sounds good. Talk to you later, Cas.”

=

Dean spends the next few day in his normal routine - working with Benny to get food out and about, doing other general work as the resident delivery-person/handiman for the small town. He goes over to have dinner a few times with his family - Adam is back from college for a bit, getting teased about if he has a girlfriend or boyfriend by Dad and Dean. Kate avoids the topic, instead just making sure that Adam gets enough to eat and asking him how his classes are going and if he’s still going to be an EMT. Despite Dean and Dad’s ribbing, they’re both proud of Adam and his work, and he knows that.

He’s just mad they pick on  _ him  _ and so takes the opportunity to mention Dean’s  _ constant texting _ . Kate and Dad ask him about that, and he says it’s him just talking with a new friend - which isn’t a lie. Cas is a friend right now, and when they get more serious, he’ll say more, but so far the talking is good. He’s not about to push for more, and so far Cas hasn’t pushed for more than just someone to talk to and to confirm good places to eat, if he knows about so-and-so in construction, and how he’s doing.

So he’s quite happy when he gets a call to go and deliver some stuff over to the construction site right before his break, and Benny waving him off with a smile. He has to laugh as he walks off, heading out in the Impala with the back full of the food to hand over. He brings over coffee to the main office, smiling as Castiel looks up in surprise.

“When I suggested a coffee date, I didn’t realize it’d be while you’re at work.” He hands it over as Castiel smiles, blue eyes shining. “I came to drop off lunch for everyone. Wanna take a break? It’s my time off, but it’s up to you.”

Castiel sips the coffee and hums, looking at the time. “I can take a rest as well. I didn’t realize that you were  _ the  _ delivery person.”

“I know the town well, so it helps. There’s a few others that are getting good - Garth’s mostly harmless and is working on some other stuff, and I’m saving up money for my own thing.” He walked over near Cas’ desk, noticing the design of the houses spread out. “Nice. This gonna be a new subdivision or is it just the one house?”

“So far it’s just the house. Talbot asked me to build up in the Netherfield style I created a little while ago. As far as I know, the other lots aren’t sold.”

“They’re pretty ritzy. Didn’t think you’d get so much out of a small town, huh?”

“Talbot and his new wife seem to be doing what they can for the community. It’s good to see.” He sipped more on his coffee, blue eyes dancing as he looked at Dean. “I heard a rumor from Uriel.”

“Oh?” Dean examined the couch in the room, taking in the woodwork and details.

“I heard that the party was invitation-only.”

“Well, there was that rumor,” Dean says with a mischievous smirk, “but I was also there as a friend of the bride. Not sure an invite would make me more legit than that.”

Castiel chuckles at Dean’s admission, looking almost pleased with the answer as Dean chuckles. 

“You didn’t seem that upset that I crashed it either.”

“Well, I would be, but it was not my party.” Castiel walked up next to Dean, offering a seat and sitting near him. “I’m not exactly one to follow the rules to the letter, especially if it means you meet new people and get new experiences.” He happily opens up the large burger and smiles at it, Dean watching a bit as he bites into it and moans. “My compliments to the chef.”

“Thanks.”

Castiel glances over at him, surprise before he smiles and eats some more, putting it down and taking another sip of coffee as he says, “You’re full of surprises.”

“I’m a regular piñata,” Dean quips, getting Castiel to smile again. “If you want, I could take you out to another coffee place in town. It’s a lot nicer, less likely you’ll get one of the workers to come in with a question.”

“Oh? You aren’t with Bela then?”

Dean nods to his question. “Bela and I are friends - more like siblings, actually. She just didn’t want anyone to try to get her set up with anyone that night.”

Castiel hums, drinking more of the coffee before saying, “I suppose we should go and have that coffee then. I’d love to find more places around here to go and visit. The whole process is going to take a while, so I will have to be here and learn the lay of the land.” He smiles at Dean, who returns it easily as they enjoy their break.

Dean and Cas never mention to the other, before everything bad happens, that this was the time they believed they fell for the other.


	2. I Took A Walk Through This Beautiful World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two months after a breakup, Uriel wonders if they did the right thing, and Castiel discovers something to let him know exactly how badly he'd messed up.

In the two months since they left Windom, Uriel had not seen Castiel for very long, if at all. After what happened to him, Uriel suspects he simply needs the time to think, to recover, but this was getting ridiculous. He’d have thought that Castiel, after realizing the dangers of being with Dean Winchester, would recover, that he’d simply calm and get back to his work. 

Instead, Raphael d’Bourgh, Uriel’s uncle who was on the board with Michael Krushnic, had reported that Castiel seemed to be upset, focused on his work, and less lively than before. Michael seemed to have noticed, but with him still working to get everything back together after Luke’s betrayal and all the incident that nearly broke everyone, Uriel included, he felt he had no choice but to try to care for his friend. Gabriel was off god-knew where, and while Balthazar  _ did  _ care, he seemed far less invested in his well-being and more in him hiding his upset. He’d thrown a few women and men of their acquaintance at him, but Uriel only ever saw him become friendly with them.

He never got anywhere near the same look as he had with Dean Winchester.

Uriel supposes his other reason is because of Bela. The woman got on his ever single nerve, and if he’d been better, he might have started to enjoy her wit, her charm, her--

He stops his thought process as he instead focuses on finding Castiel. They’d been back for only a short period of time, but still somehow, Dean Winchester had found them. Uriel suspects it’s because of his connections - he can’t think of a reason why Dean would be in the area, besides to stalk them down. He’s more surprised by the motorcycle he’s on, instead of the black beast of a car that he’d normally rode around in when coming to pick up Castiel or drop off things. The side bags on them looked to be full of something, and despite the fact that neither one had said a good word to each other, Dean appeared almost happy to see him.

“Hey Chuckles, lookin’ good.”

Uriel glared at him, hating the nickname and reminder of how Bela had smiled at it, how she’d not used it except when he was being overly serious. How--

“What do you want, Winchester?”

The smile waives, as if he didn’t expect the anger, before he says, “I wanted to call in the favor for fixing your car.” 

The reminder is not a good one. He’d believed his car had been fine, but instead it’d had a massive issue that hadn’t been noticed before on the checkup. Dean had fixed it, and said simply that Uriel would owe him a favor for the fix. Uriel’s own mechanic had complimented Dean’s fix and quick thinking, but Uriel had hated the reminder that his friend’s bad judgment and their near-miss in being associated with someone so horrible.

“I thought being civil to you while you tried to scam my friend out of his money was enough.” Dean’s smile finally fell, his green eyes looking almost upset before he answers that.

“No, I figured you were a good enough friend to just be civil to their boyfriend, but obviously you seemed to believe I’m just shit on your heel. So...how about you pay me for fixing your broke-ass piece of shit car, and I don’t ask what the hell your problem is.”

Uriel glares Dean down, but he also knows that he will probably have to pay him. The fix for the car took a great deal of work, and what Dean had done in order to fix it enough to get back to the garage had been praised by his own mechanic. If Dean had been certified and done it for cash, that would have cost him a pretty penny just for the fix to keep it going.

The key was ‘if’, but at the same time, he had fixed it. He had saved their day, and despite everything, Uriel owed him.

The other man opened up his wallet, pulling out the four hundred dollars and pushing it against Winchester’s chest. The other man reached up to grab it, Uriel using the time to lean in and hiss at him, “I know you were with Alistair. If I  _ ever  _ see you again, or hear of you coming near Castiel, I  _ will  _ have you arrested.”

The sound of the name had Winchester pale, green eyes wide and afraid as Uriel moves away and straightens himself out. “Now...get off my property.”

Winchester held onto the money, eyes still wide with surprise - probably that anyone knew the truth, that someone so close to Castiel knew his intention - before he stiffens. Something about his eyes seem to change, but Uriel doesn’t pay attention to that. He simply makes sure that his private guards know that Winchester needs to get off his property and to make sure he doesn’t come there again.

Winchester leaves right behind Uriel, heading the opposite way he went on that motorcycle of his, and leaving Uriel feeling proud of himself. He’d dealt with the man once and for all, hopefully. Now, all that he had to do was get Castiel better, maybe find him someone else, and everything would be fine again.

=

Castiel sighs as he hears the knock on his door again. It’s the third time in as many days, and he has a feeling that if it’s not Uriel, then it’s probably Balthazar or someone else from his life, wanting to talk to him about what happened in Windom.

He doubts they’ll have anything to talk to him about. He wishes he’d been able to call Dean, to get hold of him before he’d had to leave, but he’d been unable to reach him since he was ‘stood up’ and Gabriel and Balthazar brought up that they believed Dean was using him, was working exclusively with a man named Alistair.

Castiel didn’t believe it, but Uriel had backed up the claim, stating he’d seen Dean with the man, and that he’d gotten information from two people he trusted that Dean was working with him. He was apparently a well-known con artist, and his presence only meant that he’d been lied to.

_ Dean had lied to him, trying to get his money. _

Coming home had only meant coming back to the same people who wanted to find out if he was ok, who wanted him to do a lot of things to make sure he  _ was  _ ok, and who seemed determined to make him believe the worst of that town and the people in it. He doubts he should feel that way, and the doubts eats at him the longer he’s unable to contact Dean, and the more he realizes that either something happened to him, and he can’t reply…

...or that his friends are right, and he  _ won’t _ reply.

The thought is not one that Castiel wants to contemplate. It makes him think to when Dean asked to stay with them, not able to quite explain why when confronted about it by the Pratts and Uriel.

_ Dean shifts as he looks over at the group, conscious of how he looks and the bags on his back. He’s not comfortable explaining his whole family issue, nor is he happy with having to ask Cas for such a big favor without going into the detail. Benny was having his own issues, Bela was not really up for a roommate when she wasn’t really getting any money from her father at the moment - another fight over other issues - and Adam was back in school. It had been lucky that Cas had a place, even if he had to deal with his friends apparently confused by his appearance.  _

_ “It’s a family thing,” he mutters when he gets asked why he’s there, “If I go over there, I’ll have to deal with it, and my dad isn’t about to let me do that.” _

_ “Sounds like your own issue,” Balthazar drawls unhappily. _

_ “It is, but I figured I’d see if I could find another place to stay other than somewhere that would make me uncomfortable and cause trouble.” _

_ Castiel takes pity on him, moving up to hook his arm through Dean’s as he shifts uncomfortably at Balthazar’s insinuations, Uriel’s glare, and Gabriel’s general indifference. “I’ve had to deal with my own family issues recently. I know that sometimes it’s easier to head away from them then to deal with them until you’re prepared. Since this is my place,” he emphasises the words, glancing at all three when he does, “you’re welcome to stay.” _

_ Dean gives him a huge smile, looking happily at him as Gabriel makes a gagging sound. Dean’s eyes shift away, obviously self-conscious, but he mutters at the same time, “Thanks, Cas. I’ll help out however I can, promise.” _

_ “And if you do need my help, just ask, Dean. I’ll help however I can.” _

Dean hadn’t quite explained, and his family had simply been grateful for the time. Kate had mentioned that it was because of “Mary and Sam”, but nothing beyond that.

Whoever Mary and Sam were, they might have been connected to Alistair. Castiel didn’t know, because between seeing Dean and when he’d finished the Netherfield project, Uriel and Balthazar had started saying how bad Dean was for him, Gabriel had insinuated that Dean was cheating on him, and…

Castiel stands slowly, rubbing his tired eyes as he opens the door and blinks upon seeing Balthazar on the other side. He’s a bit surprised to see him, especially since last he heard, he was off doing some sort of work on a hotel elsewhere. “What are you doing here?”

“Um, we had a dinner date tonight? There was that reservation at Crowley’s that we can only get every few months? Please tell me you remembered.”

“I did. I also remember telling you I wasn’t going.”

Balthazar pushes his hand against the door, stopping him from closing it. “Please tell me you’re not still pining away for that man.”

“Balthazar, not tonight.”

Balthazar glared at him. “ _ We. Had. Planned this _ . Well before you went and dated the worst person you could have chosen to date. You don’t get to punish me for your bad judgment. We’re going out to Crowley’s. You’re going to at least try to have fun and forget about that fuck-up. I mean it. Get dressed and be downstairs, or I’m calling in Naomi or Michael or  _ someone  _ to get your head out of your arse.”

He let Castiel close the door that time, getting the other man to sigh. There was a chance that the day out would do him good, and he’d rather not have either his aunt or his brother get called about this. He’d avoided their questions as much as he could, focusing on new projects that he mostly worked from home, while his mind got caught up in other things. He’d ended up focusing instead on his carpentry, getting to work on a large, beautiful piece of wood he’d gotten and turning it into a headboard, while others were turned into other bits of furniture.

All of it reminded him of Dean, of Windom, of the sense of freedom he had in that town, and of how quickly it disappeared when he’d finished the home, only to end up without much reason to stay, and having no reason to return. 

At the same time, he thinks this will be a good thing to do. Crowley’s is very exclusive, and Castiel hasn’t had a good meal, made by someone who knew what they were doing, in a while.

=

He’s not surprised that Hannah and Rachel are there, though he’s more surprised they agreed to go out with Balthazar. Normally neither woman would be up for seeing him, but apparently he’d gotten both on the promise that Castiel would be there as the “filter” between him and them. He’s grateful that Balthazar attempts to keep the conversation away from Windom or anything else, but rumors had their way of coming up in their circle, so he’s not surprised when Rachels asks, “I heard you’d been upset over someone at your last job.”

“I met someone there, and it ended poorly, yes,” he answered, hoping for quiet as Balthazar watched, obviously not wanting to get involved when Rachel was the one talking. She was very no-nonsense in their circle of acquaintances, and did not allow Bal or Gabriel to get away with as much as they got away with in the case of any other people.

Of course, Hannah and Rachel were more  _ his  _ friends, not Balthazar, so he’s not surprised that she’ll ask him about it, especially with Balthazar there.

“Oh?” Hannah says, surprised, “I didn’t think you’d do something so serious so quickly.”

Balthazar shifts, coughing. “Five months while building up a Netherfield-style home? I’d hardly call that ‘quick’, Hannah.”

Both of them raised their eyebrows, looking over at Castiel as he examines the menu, debating on what he wanted to have. Though limited, he knew that Crowley and his team were the best with their food they did offer, and while he hadn’t had a lot of home-cooked food or any of that since he left Windom, he does hope this will at least make him feel better.

“You either had very good luck or were very rushed,” Rachel said, another look going to Balthazar as they all pause to order. Castiel gets water, not wanting to have alcohol and potentially lose his ability to hold in his sadness at the loss.

“So which was it?”

“Hmm?” Castiel looks back to Rachel, forgetting the earlier question as he clears his mind. “Forgive me, I got distracted. Truthfully I was able to get a great amount of people who knew what they were doing, and it was sheer luck. I was also making a much smaller variant of Netherfield for the Kelly’s, and they were actually quite good as far as approving things in a timely manner.”

“That’s good to hear,” Rachel said, “I had a request from them for another house. I’ll have to see how it goes.” They get their drinks as Rachel contines, “Though I did hear that they were not happy about me because of something that happened.”

He’s quiet at that, Balthazar snorting in annoyance as Castiel looks over at Rachel’s serious stare, drinking his water in the hopes of hiding his upset as the others drank, Balthazar speaking up to Rachel’s earlier comment. “I’m not sure what they would have to say. Castiel did everything they asked. I’d thought they were a bit more ecstatic over getting a Netherfield home in so quick a time. Last I heard, they’re far more demanding of their staff.”

They hadn’t been demanding of him, and Castiel doesn’t remember Balthazar seeing anything like that while they were at Windom. At the same time, he’d been mostly hanging out at Castiel’s place, or complaining about things in the town and the lack of whatever it was that Balthazar and Gabriel liked to do. Uriel had been stiff, reading into every word as if it would sudden reveal the dark underbelly of the town, and viewed Dean Winchester as the very devil. It never made any sense, at least to Castiel, but then again, he’d been taken in by Dean’s charms, and allowed himself to be used.

“I’ve never heard that,” Hannah mutters as she sips her Chardonnay. “In fact, quite the opposite. Though again, I did read up on some of what happened in Windom. Quite the scandal, Balthazar. I never thought Gabriel would sink so low.”

Silence hit the table at the same time as the appetizers. Castiel blinks, looking at his two friends, then glancing at Balthazar, who’s sweating and tapping at his v-neck shirt like it’s suddenly too hot. “Why Hannah, whatever are you talking about? And why  _ here _ ?” the last part was hissed, enough that Castiel focuses more on Balthazar than the food, the atmosphere, or the two others with him.

Hannah shrugged. “I was going to get someone from Windom, a Cassie Robinson, for my work. She got sniped by  _ Josie Sands _ of all people because she didn’t want to ‘deal with the drama’ brought by people associated with the Krushnics, but specifically with the Pratts. She also did a wonderful op-ed before she left. You both should read it. It’s amazing...and she’s working for a tabloid company now.” She gives Balthazar an accusing stare as Castiel glances over at Rachel, who gives him a quick nod.

The food is...prepared. He doesn’t feel sick over it, per-se, but he is upset with the news from Rachel and Hannah. He’s angrier when Balthazar attempts to wave off their attempts to get Castiel to speak about what happened, to ‘set the record straight’, and instead he focuses on not ordering anything with alcohol in it.

The dinner course arrives on time, Crowley wandering out in his black outfit and smiling upon seeing them all. None of them return the smile, their atmosphere tense, as he says, “Ah, I’m glad to see you enjoyed the dinner, even if the atmosphere leaves something to be desired. My wait staff says there are issues?”

“None,” Balthazar starts, but Castiel cuts him off.

“It’s a wonderful dinner and an excellent menu. You have our compliments. We will apologize if our atmosphere lessened your own, but we have simply been speaking of...old issues...that needed to be aired.” He leaves a very generous tip as the group stands, Balthazar rushing to follow in confusion, “If you’ll excuse us.”

“Of course,” Crowley says with an oily smile, though he’s obviously happy to see them leave. The man dislikes chaos in his kitchen, and will prefer to see it out of his area if he’s able to do so. The girls quickly head for their car as Castiel goes to get a taxi home.

“Castiel, wait! You’re not going to go and read some smut that--.”

“Balthazar, why did you hate that town so much?” Castiel’s quiet question draws Balthazar up short, making him open and close his mouth as he tries to answer in a way that will get Castiel to remain. “We went for a wedding, one important to my future as an architect. The reason I work from home now is because of that, but I have also learned how much I hate going there. Yet more and more of my clients are happier that I stay away. Why is that?”

“I...I don’t…”

“I allowed you three to stay at my home, free of charge, and all you did was complain - about the town, my schedule...Dean.”

“You know that Dean--.”

Castiel turns to him, Balthazar falling silent as he sees the tear running down his eyes. “I don’t. I didn’t ask  _ him _ . You both said that he never called, and when I tried the number didn’t work. I don’t  _ know  _ what happened, and you have done your best to keep me from it. So tell me why you hate that town so much, Bal. Give me a good reason, and maybe I’ll stop feeling like I ripped out my own heart at your behest.”

Balthazar looks at him, silent as the cab pulls up, then says, “Cassie, you don’t understand. That town was just...bad for you. You were going to do something stupid if you stayed there any longer.”

The two are silent before Castiel let out a sigh and shook his head, turning and heading into the cab. He wished his friend could have at least been good enough to give him a reason for it, and not the same line he’d said since they left.

_ You would have done something stupid. _

_ Something stupid like what? Fall in love with Dean Winchester? It’s a little too late for that stupid choice. So what else was there? _

=

It’s easy enough to find the articles online, and after a long time staring at it, Castiel attempts another phone call. When it doesn’t go through, something begins to make him wonder. He tries a few more - only some of them reach, and he apologizes when he does, stating his phone had been “acting up” and he was attempting to fix it.

It’s why he contacts Kevin Tran the next day, having the young man go through it seriously before he says, “Someone really messed it up. You should get a new one.”

“I should, but I’m worried that it will keep the wrong numbers. Is there anyway to retrieve them?”

Kevin hummed, annoyed as he looked it over before nodding, saying, “Gimmie a few days. I’ll have it ready for you.”

“Thank you.” Castiel pauses, and as much as he doesn’t  _ want  _ to ask…he has to.

He did this. He allowed this to happen. He’s not going to run away from it. “Kevin...is there a way to find out  _ who  _ changed them?”

Kevin looks up, disgruntled, but nods. The young man is his tech worker, and while Michael does like his work and praises him, Castiel thinks that maybe he also gets  _ too much  _ work, or at least that some of the others might be leaving it all on him. “I could. It’ll take longer.”

“I don’t mind. I have some thinking to do, and need a few days off anyway.” He pauses, offering him a small smile. “Thank you for this. You didn’t have to.”

Kevin snorts. “Yeah, well, you’re nice, and Michael’s got his own charm, when he’s not in ‘boss of the universe’ mode. I’ll get it done.”

Castiel nods, then heads up. He has to have a long, serious talk with his brother about many things, and hopefully when he’s done, he’ll be able to get where he’s going, or at least start to head there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In both the original story and in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Bingley basically just ghosts the girl he likes based on his friend and family saying "Don't date her."  
> For Pride and Prejudice, it's handwaved as obviously the family is 'below them' and such, and in the LBD...Bing and Caroline just ghost the whole family. There are some issues with the mom (kinda, even in the book-diaries attached to the LBD it's debatable on if she's acting out of love or what), but the end result is that they ghosted Jane, and with Caroline knowing about the Diaries, that means she KNOWS what happened, but doesn't care.  
> So that's who Balthazar and Gabriel are here. I know some may want them to be better, but they aren't. Someone has to be the asshole.


	3. Blame It On the Alcohol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassie Robinson watches as Bela and Uriel talk, thanks to alcohol. Truths are found out, and none of them are nice.

Cassie Robinson has not mentioned to her boss that she’s a certified bartender. It’s on her resume, for anyone to find later if they want, and she enjoys having that hidden gift, in case she has to pull it out for special occasions.

It’s yet another reason why so many people wanted her and Dean to get together. Between his awesome food and her evil creativeness for bartending, there would have been a kickass bar and grill or something. But she loved being a journalist, and despite everything, he was working his way up and through. The whole incident with Azazel and Alistair had thrown things for a loop, and while everyone had managed, Dean had been hit the hardest with everything that happened, and now with Uriel Darcy, one of Castiel Krushnic’s friends who was there during the whole thing, Cassie hopes to get the remains of the story and learn what happened.

So she’s completely for Josie’s suggestion of trying out a new interview idea with Uriel, and Raphael, curious and extremely for allowing this, is way too willing to throw Uriel into this. She’s beginning think that he wants answers too, but she doesn’t know enough about the group to really know why. Either way, it’ll at least allow her to have answers, and when she can, she’ll be able to give them to Dean, if he wants them.

“You mix drinks?”

“I needed a side-job during college,” she tells him as she looks over the offering. Raphael and Josie had not skimped on the drinks or the mixes. “Anything you like in particular?”

“I don’t drink very often.”

_ Oh, this is gonna be  _ fuuuunnnnn _ , no, bad Cassandra. Don’t do it. _

“Well, what do you normally drink?”

_ Good girl. _

“I don’t,” he sneered out, like he was upset by this whole thing. 

_ Nope, murdering now. With the bad tequila. _

“Well, I just need your feedback on this. I know a few people who like to, and sometimes it helps to relax for the interview.” Uriel is still stiff, angry, and Cassie pulls out what she suspects will be a low-blow, but one she’s willing to use.

“I can teach you the drinks that Bela likes.” He stiffens, and she sees his eyes dart along all of them as she adds, “Dean knows how to make it.”

“Show me.”

_ Oh god he’s got it  _ bad _...he’s still dead by bad tequila but I’m gonna film it when he drunkenly admits to her that he loves her. _

Cassie starts off slowly, explaining what she’s doing and the measurements while asking him simple questions to start off, such as how he knew the Pratts and Cas, and why he’d followed them or stayed in Windom.

“Castiel tends to need someone to watch over him while he’s on assignment, and I wanted to take the break. I simply did not expect him to take so long there.”

Cassie kept her anger in check at that, instead starting the shaker before asking, “So why not see if you could get him to just work from home? You guys stayed too.”

“He wanted to stay. Him meeting up with…” he pauses when Cassie pulls out the copper glasses full of ice. “What are you doing?”

“It’s Bela’s favorite - mint julep. You get them at races, mostly.” She pours it out for the two. “Try it.”

“Races?”

“Yeah, especially the Kentucky Derby.” He slowly picks it up and sips it. “So, tell me about Castiel’s project. It’s the talk of the town, it’s such a nice house.”

She quickly moves from the simply to the overly complex and fully alcoholic, but Uriel is a pushover and after the third drink is smiling as Bela comes in, looking between the two. “Um...what are you two doing?”

“I’m trying a new method for reporting. Uriel is helping me--.” “--you have such pretty eyes, Bela.”

_ Note to self: rum makes him flirty. Death by tequila is still on the table. _

“...what are you making?”

“I’m about to give him some tequila.”

Bela’s eyes go wide as she looks between Uriel and Cassie. “Give the poor man some water first, Jesus Cas,” she mutters as she walks to get a glass for him, “and I’ll take what he had.”

“You’re so nice,” Uriel mutters as Cassie looks at him and raises her eyes to the ceiling. “Why were you with Dean?”

“We’re not playing twenty questions with me,” Bela mutters as she glares at Cassie, who looks far too pleased with herself as she prepares the next drink.

“No...you were asking me what happened,” Uriel said drunkenly before he takes the shot of tequila that Cassie puts in front of him, looking it as Bela takes it away and downs it. He watches her in a way that Cassie could only describe as “heart-eyes” before Bela says, “Don’t give him tequila.”

“Fine. You were saying about what happened with the Pratts and Castiel?”

Uriel looks a bit confused. “Nothing happened with the Pratts - Bal mentioned something and I went to check on it. I saw Dean dealing with Alistair, and when Castiel tried to reach him, he disappeared. Castiel tried to call him a few times, but failed to get through. He came home and...I dunno.” The second shot she gave to Uriel was actually taken by him, prompting Bela to grab at the vodka.

_ Oh...oh no. _

“Um...Bela…”

“So you admit it,” Bela said after downing some of it, Uriel watching drunkenly as Cassie tried to figure out if she should give him more shots or not, and instead glanced to make sure the recording device was on. It was, but still what she said was, “You broke them up.”

“I told Castiel the truth! That man was hanging around with a known sadist and drug dealer, he was running the shady ‘delivery’ business! You think I didn’t suspect he was just using Castiel as a front?”

Cassie doesn’t pause as she pours him a few shots instead, lining them up in front of him before putting other shot glasses in front of Bela and taking away the vodka, pouring up the shots as Bela demanded, “The hell do you know Alistair from? The skinny asshole showed up out of nowhere, you knew him how?”

The two downed their shots as Uriel says, “I know him because that bastard is responsible for my sister’s death!”

_ Turn off the camera, turn off the camera, turn off-- _

“And you didn’t mention he’s a drug-dealing bastard to anyone  **_why_ ** ?” Bela demands, “You just decided that guy is, what, obviously working with Dean?”

“Of course he was!” Uriel says drunkenly before the two downed another shot, “What else would he be doing with that man? The bastard was using Castiel somehow...using you…” well, the tequila is taking its hold as he sways and looks at Bela with the most obvious heart-eyes you could get short of-- “You’re really pretty.”

_ And there it is. Oh, this is gonna be fun. _

She starts to get two large glasses of water as Bela pulls back, looking angry as she demands, “What does that have to do with you breaking up your friend and mine because you think Dean was dealing?”

“He was,” Uriel whines as he sways, the alcohol obviously taking hold. “I know he was.”

“How?” Cassie speaks up, getting Bela to glare at her drunkenly as Uriel looks back at her, obviously confused, “I mean, you claim that Dean was seen with Alistair, you know him from your sister, what exactly happened?”

“I...I’ll tell you what happened,” Uriel slurs, leaning heavily on the bar top as Cassie  _ very seriously  _ debates what to do right before he reaches down and grabs the bottle of...of…

_ It’s green, why is it green? If this kills them I’m never going to live this down. _

“Guys, maybe you should--.” “That...that rat bastard killed my sister, gave her drugs, and the minute I saw them arguing I-I knew the man was...was trouble.” Uriel opens the green bottle and downs some of its contents. “I couldn’t let him ruin you more.”

“ _ More? _ ” Bela grabs the green bottle and downs her own fill of it before Cassie can take it away. She sniffs it experimentally before wrinkling her nose, putting the top back on, and hiding it. “The hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re so pretty, and graceful, if you weren’t…*hic* weren’t so poor you’d be so great. We should date.”

Cassie is not surprised by this revelation. She’s really not, the man was baited into this with ‘learn how to make these drinks to ply Bela with your abilities, you teetotaler you’, but she’s more amazed that he thinks Bela is  _ poor _ .

Though Cassie had to admit, considering Bela’s past, and her current state, it was something you’d think. Bela was not exactly using her family money for anything - she’d even changed her name after he mother and stepfather died, and now she seemed more determined than ever to be her own woman and make her own way. 

“I know it’s unexpected,” he mutters at Bela’s silence as Cassie, being the sober responsible one, gets them glasses of water. “We’re from such different circles, and despite everything I found that I can only really think of you when you’re around. You--.”

Bela threw the water at his face, slamming the glass down hard enough to make Cassie wince as she sees the drunken glare her friend sends him. “Then I hope you deal with it, because you  _ broke up my friend _ and didn’t tell anyone why. You didn’t warn anyone, you didn’t tell any of us anything, and now people have suffered because of it. That was all before you said that I was barely good enough despite being poor. Newsflash, asshole - I don’t care what social class you’re from and half the social class bullshit you brought up is nothing more than a fuckin’ excuse!” Cassie gingerly took the two glasses away as the two stood, wobbly on their feet and still very drunk, Uriel soaking and Bela’s eyes flashing in her drunken-but-righteous anger, “You would be the last person on this earth I’d ever date!”

“You...you’d take...take some...some... _ drug dealer  _ over me? That man is...is a liar and...and you’d…”

Cassie should have made them drink the water, because the next thing she saw was Uriel fall, Bela try and fail to stop him, and the two end up on the ground. She quickly rushes over, but Bela, upon being prone, had instantly gone from angry to asleep, with Uriel sleeping quietly on top of her, luckily not at a bad angle, but enough that when they woke up, there would be  _ more words _ , hopefully sober ones, that made more sense.

So Cassie did what any good, normal friend would do.

She took a photo of them in the compromising position, grabbed her recorded ‘interview’ stuff, and told some of the staff she passed on her way out about it. After drawing cat whiskers on their faces. 

She wasn’t such a horrible friend she’d draw a dick, and she kinda had to go and talk with Dean about a lot of things. Those two would hash their issues out here.

=

Bela woke up with a hangover but with enough memories of what happened to silently curse both Uriel Darcy and Cassie Robinson for letting her  _ near  _ vodka. She’s going to swear it off one of these days, Bela really is, but for right now she needs to figure out the best way to get out of here without making a fool of herself.

_ First, where am I? _

The shades opening to streaming sunlight got Bela to groan and hide back under the covers, annoyed with the sudden change, but now knowing exactly where she is.

And now she’s going to  _ murder  _ Cassie Robinson. Because best friends do not leave other best friends alone in strange houses, especially not houses owned by Raphael d’Bourgh, the uncle of the man you just got drunk with and threw water on last night.

The sound of a familiar and pained groan from nearby makes Bela freeze in terror and anger. She looks at the covers she’s currently hiding under, but spots no one. The huge bed of wonderful sleep is free of the man who groaned nearby. Which means there’s  _ another _ bed, or couch, or something, in the same room and  _ she is going to kill Cassie so much now. _

“Close shades!” the pained moan from the other person in the room does nothing, since Bela still sees light streaming in, but it does tell her who is there. Of course Uriel is still upset over the lack of movement, so the angry, “Close. Shades!” happens as she hears the bed shift, an angry and pained groan, then she hears him stumble towards a door, hitting the end table and cursing a bit at something rattling, but not hitting the top of the table.

“...two…?” an annoyed sound comes before a door is opened and closed to another side. Bela slowly peeks out, squinting in the morning light streaming into the beautiful side room, noticing that the ‘two’ in question were two waters, one on each end table near where they’d been sleeping. She gingerly takes hers, sipping briefly before downing the rest and, after a long pause, going to get the other glass as she hears water running from what she assumes is the bathroom.

The man deserves dehydration and the continuation of his hangover, she  _ doesn’t _ .

She put the empty glass down and headed out of the room, intent on finding her way out of this madhouse before anyone did something stupid, like talk to her, but her luck was not one to last so far.

“Ah, Ms. Talbot.” Raphael d’Bourgh gets her to pause, glancing over at him. He looks at her curiously, and she now desperately wishes she’d looked for her sunglasses and phone. “Leaving already? Your friend should be here soon, I hoped you and Uriel could join me for breakfast.”

“I...wasn’t planning on staying here overnight, and honestly I should just--.” she motions towards the front entrance.

“Nonsense. You and Uriel needed the rest, though I will have to warn Ms. Robinson about that type of...interview. Apparently little of use was gained, at least on my end.”

_ Your nephew admitted he broke up my friend and that he loves me, how is that not worthy of something? Like kicking me out? _

Bela has to admit, she’s biased against rich people. Most of it is due to her family and how they treated her before and after she legally changed her name, signed away her inheritance, and started pretend-dating people like Dean. So as much as she  _ wants  _ to turn down Raphael’s invite with an insult and simply walk off her anger and hangover, she also knows she has to at least get some food in her, and hope that Cassie arrives sooner rather than later so she can yell at  _ her _ for what happened.

Also, she’s really curious about what Raphael said and seemed to imply. After all, if it wasn’t important to know that Uriel liked her, then what was he trying to get?

“ I thought it was a bit...illuminating...for us in some things. Far more than what he told us before.”

“Well, yes, but I knew most of it, sadly. I was hoping to learn more about what happened with Castiel Krushnic. He quit the company, a little while ago.”

The news pulls Bela up short, looking over at the man. “Quit? But he loved doing that work!”

“He did. But he can’t stay there without being reminded of what he allowed to happen, and of what his friends...of what Uriel and the others...did. I’m sure you understand the reason for leaving such a place, don’t you Ms. Kelly?”

The name draws her up short, eyes wide, as Raphael shakes his head. “I won’t say a thing to Uriel. He needs to learn on his own. I would have hoped he picked someone a bit more...well, truthfully I’m happy he picked anyone. He needs a bit of silliness in his life. My niece’s death has left him far too serious.”

She swallows as she slowly follows after him. “So...it was true?”

“It was...and he covered it up. He couldn’t deal with the idea of it being a scandal, of disturbing his sister’s pure heart. But then, Uriel believes what he wants, and as you saw, that leads him to conclusions that are not always the right ones.” He motions to a washroom near the dining hall. “I know you want to leave, but perhaps freshen up first? I just told you a great deal you didn’t know - perhaps as much as Uriel doesn’t. If it becomes too awkward, you can leave and I’ll have my driver take you home. But for now, please. Allow him to speak while sober.”

Bela lets out a huff of annoyance. “He was never very articulate while sober, you really think a hangover is going to help?”

“No. But he deserves a chance.”

Bela sighs, going into the washroom and looking in before blinking, and letting out an annoyed groan.

_ I’m going to murder Cassie the moment I see her for this. _

How Raphael had had a serious conversation with her when she had smudged cat-whiskers on her face, she doesn’t know, but she’s probably now justified in her dislike of them all.

Washing her face, she hears what sounds like someone storming into the breakfast room, and a quiet rebuke before, “Uncle, what are you going to do about this?”

Another quiet response, probably “what do you mean” or something equally haughty.

“They...she….I was made a fool of!”

“You did that quite well on your own, Uriel.” she hears when she stops the water, “I don’t see why you believe I should do anything about it.”

“Uncle!”

“You agreed to the interview, you had the drinks when you should have said no, and you confessed to the lovey Ms. Talbot. If how the servants found you after Ms. Robinson’s alerted them was any indication, you two had a talk that resulted--.”

“She hates me.”

Silence before Raphael says, “Ah. Good.”

“ _ Good? _ ”

“I don’t see why it was anything but. You either were going to be with her or not. I did not get an answer from Ms. Robinson about what was said before she left on important business. But she’ll be here this morning to pick up Ms. Talbot, so I suppose you can learn it then and work on your apology.”

The towel is stained black, which she laments a bit, as she hears Uriel say, “I have little to apologize for. I stopped my friend from being in a bad situation with...with someone who is--.”

“You told no one that Alistair was dangerous.” Silence met that accusation. “Uriel, it was her choice to do what she did. Alistair was only a means to get what she wanted. You either must accept that, or you will continue to alienate your friends. Castiel is not about to speak to you again because of your part in what happened. The Pratts aren’t about to be repentant in this matter, whatever the full truth is. Do you believe yourself so above everyone else there that you remain ignorant of what happened, of the pain you caused, and still win over the heart of someone who was in the thick of that?” She feels a bit weird for being here, listening in, but at the same time, hearing Uriel Darcy get reamed for his idiocy is great to listen to, though some part of her also feels weird about it. Raphael knows she’s from money, and some part of her thinks that’s the main reason he’s fine with Uriel saying he likes her. Maybe he thinks that Darcy’s love and change will make her change, make her want to get the money she “deserves”.

_ Fat chance of that.  _ She hates her family too much to ever get the money from them, and she’s not about to let the two know about that. She hopes that she can get one of the wait-staff or someone to get her things from yesterday, because she’s  _ not  _ coming back here again.

Her face clean of the markings, Bela slowly makes her way out, sneaking up to where the door was slightly ajar and leading to the breakfast room.

“I know I can’t. But Uncle, she’s...she’s too good for them. If I could I’d do what I could to make sure she’d be far away from whatever hurts her, but seeing her with Winchester when he was using Castiel as he was…” she hears Uriel sigh. “If I’m wrong about it, I’ll apologize, to her and to Castiel. I never meant it. But I know what I saw. I know who he was with, and there’s only one reason for it.”

“Is there?” Raphael asks, the silence stretching out so long it makes Bela almost nervous, but the question does remain, and it’s one she wants to know herself. Was there a reason for Alistair to come and bother them, especially focusing on Dean like he and Azazel did? What was the whole story?

She nearly jumps when Cassie taps her shoulder, looking almost apologetic as she holds up her stuff and motions to the room. Bela shakes her head, taking her stuff and walking out, Cassie following her.

She said what she needed to yesterday night. Until Uriel decides to apologize, she doesn’t see why she should entertain him or his uncle again.

=

 

Gabriel Pratt groans as he picks up the phone. Seeing the time, he groans again, wishing that he’d not had it on or taking calls before 1pm. He’s not about to get out of bed anytime before that, especially on a weekend! Seeing the caller ID though, Gabe smiled sleepily and hit the answer button, stretching as he says, “Cassie! Long time no hear. How’re you doing?”

“ _ I’ve been better. Gabriel, if I had gotten a call on my phone, you would have answered it, or at least told me, wouldn’t you?” _

“Of course,” Gabriel yawns, starting to get up, “I’m not about to delete things from your phone.”

“ _ Good. Then you can tell me why you deleted Dean’s voicemail when he...stood me up, as you said. Before Balthazar and Uriel said he was actually working for a drug dealer. _ ”

Gabriel is suddenly very awake and sweating. “What are you talking about?”

“ _ I’m talking about you, Balthazar, and Uriel working to break me up with someone I cared about. I’m talking about whatever dumb  _ prank  _ you decided to pull on me in order to make me break someone’s heart-- _ ”

“Cassie, he wasn’t even--.”

“ _ Did you know his father died the night before? I’m sure it was mentioned as well when he had to get involved in a  _ raid _. He couldn’t get in touch with me because he was in the hospital, recovering from a bullet wound. Of course, you also casually made it so I couldn’t call or receive calls from anyone in Windom. _ ”

Gabriel groaned, putting a hand to his head. “Cas, the man is bad news, you think any of us would get involved in something like that? I did it to keep you from doing something stupid and get yourself caught up even more in that drama you didn’t need! What happened with that standoff? You really want someone like  _ that  _ in your life? So I didn’t tell you and I deleted his dumb voicemail, big deal! He was using you!”

“ _ No. You and Balthazar were using me. Uriel was using me. I rented the apartment but you stayed there, against the lease. You three did your best to ruin things between Dean and I, and that I ever believed anything you said is beyond me.” _

“Cassie, you’re overreacting.”

“ _ I’m not. We’re no longer friends, Gabriel, if we ever were. I do not use the word ‘ruin’ lightly, and I have already told you that before. Your lies  _ ruined _ my chance at happiness, Gabriel. Your game  _ ruined _ me. Goodbye.” _

When Gabriel attempts to call him back, his call doesn’t go through. He quickly calls Balthazar - if anything, his brother will be able to stop this before it goes too far, and before Castiel does anything rash.

Which is when Gabriel and Balthazar learn that Castiel has left his job, his family, and disappeared out of theirs as well.


End file.
